Obrienp Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 I’m thinking about fitting a varitone style tone pot to my Guild NS Starfire 1. I can’t afford/not prepared to pay for a Stellartone Tonestyler but I found this on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256589834315?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kOM5mf7iTRe&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=4_PGIYs4SqC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY. I’ve used this guy’s stuff in the past and it was good: much easier than doing it myself and I can’t see how I could do it cheaper buying the components. I have done plenty of wiring myself on solid bodied guitars and basses but I have never tackled a semi. Has anybody replaced pots on a Starfire or similar bass? Apart from putting pieces of string through the mounting holes, how do you ensure you don’t lose the pot inside and how do you get the shaft into the mounting hole without being able to put your hand inside? Am I going to be able to change the tone pot without having to remove the volume pot and jack socket? (TBH I don’t mind removing the jack socket as I was thinking of changing it for a Puretone while I am fiddling with the wiring.) Are there any tools out there made for this purpose, or has anybody come up with their own hacks? Any experiences and advice gratefully received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 (edited) I came across this stroke of genius - using what looks like surgical tubing to hold onto the pots, which makes swift work of getting them through the holes...wish I'd seen this before ! Edited October 2 by ahpook 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 (edited) 9 minutes ago, ahpook said: If came across this stroke of genius - using what looks like surgical tubing to hold onto the pots, which makes swift work of getting the pots through the holes . Thanks for that! Great idea! I will definitely use that. Wonder where you can get the surgical tubing without having to buy a massive quantity 🤔. I hope I don’t have to remove the pickups but I guess it depends on whether I can get the pots through the f-holes. P.S. It looks like Amazon is a good source of the tubing. Edited October 2 by Obrienp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 (edited) 4 minutes ago, Obrienp said: Thanks for that! Great idea! I will definitely use that. Wonder where you can get the surgical tubing without having to buy a massive quantity 🤔. I hope I don’t have to remove the pickups but I guess it depends on whether I can get the pots through the f-holes. Pretty sure when I did some work on my Starfire, which was years ago (bass now long gone), eveything went through the f-holes. Not sure about the tubing though....try Ebay or your preferred online retailer ? HTH Edited October 2 by ahpook 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Fishing line or strong thread attached to the pots and switch work like the tubing hack, tying all the ends together, before removal, stops the lines accidentally pulling all the way through. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 4 minutes ago, ahpook said: Pretty sure when I did some work on my Starfire, which was years ago (bass now long gone), eveything went through the f-holes. Not sure about the tubing though....try Ebay or your preferred online retailer ? HTH That’s good to know.👍 Yeah, it looks like FleaBay, or the dreaded Amazon can oblige with the tubing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 1 minute ago, ezbass said: Fishing line or strong thread attached to the pots and switch work like the tubing hack, tying all the ends together, before removal, stops the lines accidentally pulling all the way through. Another good one! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floFC Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 I documented changing the pickups on my Dean Stylist semi here: https://diaryofabassguitar.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/new-pickups/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 2 Author Share Posted October 2 17 minutes ago, floFC said: I documented changing the pickups on my Dean Stylist semi here: https://diaryofabassguitar.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/new-pickups/ Thank you for sharing that. There are some good tips in there. I hadn’t thought of the tailpiece ground wire complication but it makes sense. I wouldn’t wire up a solid body bass without grounding the bridge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakester Posted October 2 Share Posted October 2 Ah, this explains why a guitar tech mate of mine had a large bag of surgical tubing in his shop. I was getting a little worried.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted October 3 Share Posted October 3 I do plenty of re-wires on hollow bodied guitars and basses. Aquarium airline tubing is what I use. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 3 Author Share Posted October 3 1 hour ago, gary mac said: I do plenty of re-wires on hollow bodied guitars and basses. Aquarium airline tubing is what I use. Thanks. I’ll look out for that. I’ve got to go through with it now, as I have ordered the varitone. It’s pretty big though, so I think I might have to remove the pickup to get into the body; I don’t think the f-holes are going to be wide enough to get it in. 😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted October 5 Share Posted October 5 Hopefully with the pickups out, you'll be able to get it done 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted October 5 Author Share Posted October 5 🤞 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 To top and tale this. The varitone arrived a little while back but isn’t in my Starfire. I couldn’t get it into the body, even with the treble side pickup removed. It’s just too big. ☹️ I’m wondering what to do with the varitone. I think it may end up in my project 32” P bass, which is a touch on the bright side but that’s another story. I am left with not being very happy with the standard tone pot/capacitor on the Starfire. I think it should really give a deeper cut to fit the vibe of the instrument. I suspect it may be a 500k/0.022 combo. I think a 250K/0.047 combination would be better. I think I can fit a full size CTS or Alpha pot through the f-hole as long as I don’t have the Orange Drop cap sticking out too far from the base of the pot 🤞. I’m still psyching myself up to attempting it after the disappointment of not being able to fit the varitone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 23 minutes ago, Obrienp said: I think a 250K/0.047 combination would be better. I like a 0.1 cap. It's what was on my old '63P and I've fitted that value to my 2 custom basses. That said, I think the cap in my JMJ Mustang is 0.05 and that does a perfectly fine job. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 (edited) Maybe give on of these ago.. Artec QTP Passive Tone selector https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403241742777 Edited November 15 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 1 hour ago, Obrienp said: To top and tale this. The varitone arrived a little while back but isn’t in my Starfire. I couldn’t get it into the body, even with the treble side pickup removed. It’s just too big. ☹️ I’m wondering what to do with the varitone. I think it may end up in my project 32” P bass, which is a touch on the bright side but that’s another story. I am left with not being very happy with the standard tone pot/capacitor on the Starfire. I think it should really give a deeper cut to fit the vibe of the instrument. I suspect it may be a 500k/0.022 combo. I think a 250K/0.047 combination would be better. I think I can fit a full size CTS or Alpha pot through the f-hole as long as I don’t have the Orange Drop cap sticking out too far from the base of the pot 🤞. I’m still psyching myself up to attempting it after the disappointment of not being able to fit the varitone. What's wrong with altering the EQ elsewhere in your signal chain? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 20 minutes ago, ezbass said: I like a 0.1 cap. It's what was on my old '63P and I've fitted that value to my 2 custom basses. That said, I think the cap in my JMJ Mustang is 0.05 and that does a perfectly fine job. I did think of a push/pull with a 0.047 and a 0.1 selection but I think I might struggle to get a decent sized push/pull into the body. The OEM push/pull on the volume, which does the series/parallel switching, has to be the smallest I have ever seen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said: Maybe give on of these ago.. Artec QTP Passive Tone selector https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/403241742777 Not come across one of those. I would like to know what the “cap” values are for it but it looks interesting. I wonder what the dimensions are: will it fit through the f-hole, I wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 15 Author Share Posted November 15 1 hour ago, BigRedX said: What's wrong with altering the EQ elsewhere in your signal chain? I like the convenience of being able to roll off the top end easily and quickly from the guitar, without having to mess around with the EQ on my amp. There are only a few songs in our set that require the “British invasion” tone, so I’ve got to be able to switch quickly. I also find it is quite difficult to get that kind of top/mid cut at the amp. It somehow doesn’t sound the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted November 15 Share Posted November 15 (edited) 2 hours ago, Obrienp said: Not come across one of those. I would like to know what the “cap” values are for it but it looks interesting. I wonder what the dimensions are: will it fit through the f-hole, I wonder. Settings for GTR and Bass... 5 position 4 + Bypass - board is 22 x 20. Hooks thru the 24 Dia fine... 22 if ya dress the sides of the board, but that won't allow for much of a body top thickness. Edited November 15 by PaulThePlug 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obrienp Posted November 16 Author Share Posted November 16 4 hours ago, PaulThePlug said: Settings for GTR and Bass... 5 position 4 + Bypass - board is 22 x 20. Hooks thru the 24 Dia fine... 22 if ya dress the sides of the board, but that won't allow for much of a body top thickness. Thanks for the details. It does sound worth investigating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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